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New Jersey Direct Financial Incentives 2010

New Jersey's economic development, finance and tax organizations provide a range of incentive programs to initiate new business and commercial investment. Specific programs include the Edison Innovation Fund, NJ Film Production Assistance Program, Technology Centre of New Jersey, and the New Jersey Urban Fund.

Feb/Mar 10
Bond Financing:
Bonds are issued to provide long-term loans at attractive, below-market interest rates for real estate acquisitions, new equipment, machinery, building construction, and renovations. Minimum loan size is approximately $500,000. Maximum tax-exempt bond amount for manufacturers is $10 million.

Low-Interest Loans and Guarantees:
Financial support is available to businesses, nonprofits and municipalities through loans, loan participations with other lending institutions, and loan guarantees. Funds may be used for fixed assets, like buildings and equipment, or working capital to cover operating expenses.

Clean Energy Financing:
The EDA and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities have combined their technical and financing expertise to make funding available for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in New Jersey. Grants and financing are available for large-scale renewable energy facilities larger than 1 MW. Renewable energy companies may also qualify for grants and recoverable grants to bring their products and technologies to market.

NJ Film Production Assistance Program:
Loan guarantees are provided for up to 30 percent of bank financing, or $1.5 million, whichever is less, to generate greater film industry investments in the state. Film production companies can receive a 20 percent tax credit for production costs on their NJ corporate business or gross income taxes.

Business Employment Incentive Program:
Incentive grants are available to expanding or relocating businesses that create jobs in New Jersey. Grants may be awarded for up to 10 years and can range between 10 percent and 80 percent of the total amount of state income taxes withheld by the company during the calendar year from the new employees hired. Businesses must create at least 25 new jobs, except for high-tech/biotech companies, which now have a minimum job creation number set at 10.

Edison Innovation Fund:
A full range of programs and services, including early-stage investments and low-interest loans and loan guarantees, are available to fuel the entire growth life cycle of life sciences and technology businesses in New Jersey through the EDA.

Tax credits:
Approved technology and biotechnology businesses may raise cash by selling their unused net operating loss carry forwards and unused research and development tax credit carry forwards to any profitable corporate taxpayer in New Jersey for at least 75 percent of the value of the tax benefits. Applications are accepted once a year by June 30th.

Technology Centre of New Jersey:
Affordable, state-of-the-art laboratory, production, and research facilities are available for emerging and advanced technology-driven companies. A full range of property and facility management services are also available to tenants. Financing may be arranged for tenant improvements.

Waterfront Technology Center at Camden:
Designed to accommodate existing businesses in the biosciences, microelectronics, advanced materials, information technology and other high-technology and life sciences fields, this 100,000-square-foot modern technology structure is enhancing Camden's standing as a technology hub in southern New Jersey.

New Jersey Urban Fund:
Financing is available to encourage urban revitalization and community economic development. Resources are also designed to support private investments by filling financing gaps in the development of community facilities and other economic development projects. Funds are also available to fund feasibility studies and other predevelopment costs to determine if a real estate project is viable as well as to make facade improvements to existing retail and commercial businesses in EDA-targeted municipalities.

Low-cost financing for communities:
This resource offers loans at a three percent fixed interest rate, which are primarily interest-only, for commercial, industrial, and mixed-use projects. Loans can be used for a greater proportion of the project financing than typically provided by the EDA up to 50 percent of project costs. They also are available in amounts up to $10 million. Funds may be used for fixed assets such as building construction, renovations, real estate acquisitions and equipment purchases, and also small amounts of working capital. Developers, businesses, and not-for-profit organizations are eligible. The projects must be located in an eligible census tract and in a smart growth planning area.

Smart growth redevelopment support:
Resources are available to return New Jersey's economically underutilized sites to productive use and encourage redevelopment of older urban, suburban, and rural communities in the state. These resources may be used to assist municipalities redeveloping underutilized properties, developers building on previously underused sites, and businesses expanding to adjacent properties that might have environmental issues.

Economic recovery in Camden:
A strong state commitment to revitalize the City of Camden, coupled with the pool of money that has been made available to fuel redevelopment through the Economic Recovery Board, an EDA subsidiary, have served as springboards to generate new interest in Camden among businesses, developers and redevelopers and new job opportunities for residents of the city and surrounding communities.

Portfields initiative:
The EDA and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have embarked on a project that seeks to advance the redevelopment of brownfield properties and other underutilized sites in the Port District for commerce operations. Brownfield Redevelopment Loan Program: Interim financing is available to eligible borrowers for meeting costs of remediation of a brownfield site undertaken as part of a Brownfield Reimbursement Agreement with the New Jersey Commerce. Loans up to $750,000 may be provided for up to three years.

Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Loan & Grant Program:
Businesses may qualify for loans up to $1 million for up to 10 years for site remediation and cleanup. Municipalities may apply for grants and low-interest loans up to $3 million per year for investigation and remediation activities on properties they own or for which they hold a tax sale certificate and have a comprehensive plan or realistic opportunity to develop within three years. Loan guarantees are also available.

Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Remediation, Upgrade & Closure Program:
Loans and grants are available for business owners/operators and homeowners to clean up, upgrade or close underground storage tanks. Businesses may qualify for 100 percent of eligible project costs. Hardship grants for up to $500,000 or $750,000 in Planning Areas 1 and 2 or designated centers are available for up to 100 percent of the costs. Financing for small businesses, minority-owned and women-owned businesses. Loans for real estate, other fixed assets and working capital for operating needs are available for small businesses, particularly minority-owned and women-owned enterprises. Loans are for a maximum of $200,000.

Business Retention and Relocation Assistance Grant Program (BRRAG):
This program preserves jobs from being relocated out of state. BRRAG offers grants as credit against business tax liability. Grant values cannot exceed 80 percent of tax payments to the state. The program is available to businesses that relocate a minimum of 250 jobs from one or more locations in the state to a new business location or locations in New Jersey. Grants of up to $1,500 per job retained are payable as a tax credit against a company's corporate tax liability.

Sales and Use Tax Exemption Program:
Designed to be used in conjunction with BRRAG, the Sales and Use Tax Exemption program offers sales and use tax exemptions on the purchase of "eligible property" to certain companies relocating and retaining jobs within New Jersey. Businesses that have 1,000 or more employees and relocate at least 500 workers or life sciences and manufacturing companies relocating at least 250 workers are eligible.

Brownfields Redevelopment Incentive Program:
The Brownfields Redevelopment Incentive Program provides viable financial incentives and protection for developers to clean up and redevelop polluted sites. The State works with developers to recover up to 75 percent of the remediation costs incurred at a proposed site. Eight state taxes, including sales, business use and corporate taxes are eligible to be used to reimburse the developer for remediation costs. Developers have the ability to secure a "Covenant Not To Sue Agreement" from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that shields developers from third-party claims if they did not cause the contamination.

Urban Enterprise Zones:
The UEZ Program provides tax incentives and credits to eligible businesses that locate in the state's urban enterprise zones. Companies can benefit from incentives that include reduced retail sales tax, tax exemptions on certain materials and personal property, and a one-time corporate tax credit of $1,500 for each new, full-time employee. Currently, there are 32 such zones.

Other financial assistance programs:
The New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development provides comprehensive assistance to employers in recruiting and training workers, including:
• Providing businesses with qualified workers recruited through a nationwide job bank;
• On-site job analysis available;
• Reimbursement of certain expenses for job training to employers and employer groups, as well as direct grants to eligible employed or underemployed workers for skills training;
• Customized skills training and education programs, arranged at the workplace or in classroom settings, primarily at one of the state's 19 community colleges.

New Jersey State Contact:
New Jersey Business Call Center
Trenton, NJ 08625-0820
888-534-7789

Incentive and tax information is provided to Area Development by each state's economic development or commerce agency for information purposes only and is subject to revision at any time by the state government. Please contact the state agency directly for full requirements and offerings.

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